I received a free pre-read copy of the Dutch translation for a group read on www.crimezone.nl. Thank you!

Nederlandse versie onderaan!

This is the first part in the new YA-series Project PERSEFoNE. The story is incredibly fast, which makes it very hard to put down, but also left me almost exhausted just thinking about all the running they have to go through. There's a lot running, escaping and explosions in this book. It reads very fast this way, but unfortunately, it also makes that there is very little time for character development...

In the middle, things slow down a bit and some things get explained. Though there are many questions left. It ends again action packed, and it is sure you can't read this book as a standalone, you'll have to continue because a) the book just kind of stopped in the middle of things, it's very obvious that the story hasn't ended, and b) very few questions are answered, so I hope that more answers will come in the next book of this series.

I've read all her adult mysteries so I thought I'd give her first foray into YA fiction a try. Plus it's a thriller and it's set in Boston.

The two main characters are Noa and Peter, they're both teens and both hackers, but after that their lives are quite disparate. Noa's a foster kid and has been for most of her life, while Peter is a private school kid who lives in a posh neighborhood, and he's a guy who's getting read to be a Legacy at Harvard. Still, their lives come crashing together.

Noa wakes up on a gurney and finds she's lost weeks of her life. Meanwhile Peter snoops in his father's stuff and searches for the wrong thing online and he gets a visit from quite the goon squad. And so the thriller starts for both of them.

And it is a pretty good thriller. I was never quite sure when they'd be caught vs. when they'd get away, not to mention who would die and who would survive.

There was also quite the diverse set of characters in the story, and each of them was unique. I especially liked Cody, and I thought the relationship between Amanda and Peter was something that isn't often seen in especially YA books, and older girl and younger guy in a relationship.

Then there was Boston, and the surrounding area. I just don't get how she gets nearly everything about Boston fine, calling it the T instead of the MTA (a different story set in Boston did that over and over, drove me crazy) and heck, she even used the word wicked in the correct New England way in the beginning, and yet, she did one of my pet peeves. She had Noa, who had supposedly grown in and around Boston think, "She didn't know this section of Boston well... Cambridge was dominated by the Harvard Campus". (pg. 98). Well, duh, of course they wouldn't be looking for her there, Cambridge and Boston are two different cities... I guess maybe she did it on purpose, but, somehow I doubt it. Ugh. They're two different cities, with a freakin' river between them. *sigh* ( )

Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon is a novel about a conspiracy that gets people killed if that get too close. I would call this novel barely science fiction but definitely suspense. It is a planned trilogy.

Noa's parents are dead, and she's been a ward of the state for years. She learned how to hack and can do just about anything on a computer. She wakes up in a room that seems to be a hospital room and has had surgery. She has no memory of needing surgery or being admitted. She has great instincts and knows that something is wrong, so she fights her way out and is on the run from these unknown people who want her back.

Peter is the son of wealthy parents whose brother died from a disease that no one has been able to cure, as it kills young people. His father disdains Peter and feels like the better son died, so Peter does his own thing. He has a great car and plenty of money, so who needs parents? Peter established a group on the web that fights against abuses by getting even or making a statement via technology. One night Peter looks through his dad's computer and becomes curious at what he finds. Within an hour of researching his find, men break into the house and steak Peter's computer, telling him to tell his parents Mr. Mason was there. Peter's parents hastily return home but refuse to explain.

Peter and Noa come together when Peter recruits her and others to find out who the company is and what is truly going on. Overall, you'll enjoy the novel. It is fast-paced and suspenseful. ( )

As they say this was a thrill ride, no really I really liked it. It reads like I was watching a movie. I could see and feel the urgency of the scenes. Of course the thing the book has over watching on a screen whether big or small is that I was able to get into the character's head. I knew what drives them and makes them tick.

The suspense, mystery and adventure Noa and Peter encountered in the story, separately and eventually together made me nervous, and captivated. I thought the concept and storytelling were great. A really good nail biting read. ( )